The Original College Football Czar

Week 7

Week six in review: With two national contenders squaring off in Tuscaloosa, it was inevitable that there be a bit of a shakeup last week, but Alabama was just one of four presumptive SEC contenders to be toppled. In addition to the Crimson Tide's controversial loss to Georgia, top-ranked Texas lost a shocker to Oklahoma, #10 LSU fell in overtime to Kentucky, and #16 Florida got the phlegm beaten out of it for a second week in a row.

Shortly before the posting of this week's picks, ESPN began reporting that the CFP is very close to an agreement to expand the playoff to 24 teams starting in 2027. Regular readers of the College Football Czar are already very familiar with his opinion on this. The original intent of the "plus-one" format that matched the two best bowl winners in a championship game was to make sure the best team in the nation was not left without a chance to win the title. It accomplished that immediately, and there was no honest reason to expand beyond that point, based on what The Powers That Be Stupid had told us up until then.

Elsewhere, James Madison has announced that it is joining the American Conference and leaving the Sun Belt. The two conferences have similar geographic footprints, so the Dukes will still have a few natural rivals within about a four-hour drive, and it's a definite step up in competition, just as long as the American isn't raided again by one of the big leagues.

JMU is currently the only undefeated group-of-five member, but because if differences in schedule strength, that does not necessarily mean they will capture a CFP bid if they run the table. Right now, 5-1 Boise State, with only a seven-point road loss to Oregon, appears to be in the best position. Also in the running are New Mexico, Memphis and UTSA.

In spite of all the chaos, the College Football Czar made it through the week with a record of 15-6. For the season, he is now 90-42, for a .682 winning percentage.

Oct. 16

Appalachian State at Coastal Carolina

After beating two American Conference teams and losing a tough one to Nc State, the Mountaineers suffered a letdown in a 10-3 slog against Old Dominion. In a scoreless soaker at halftime, App State finally took a 3-0 lead in the third quarter, but on its next possession, it fumbled into its own end zone for a safety.

Coastal cracked the W-column for the first time this year against a Division I-A opponent by beating Marshall 27-21, but they led that game 27-0 midway through the third. The Chanticleers went plus-5 in turnovers for the game, but only converted their six takeaways into ten points.

Since joining the ranks of Division I-A in 2014, ASU had ten consecutive non-losing seasons until they went 5-6 in 2024, with a home game against Liberty having been hurricaned out. Last season, they got that missing game back when they were recruited to play in the Birmingham Bowl with a losing record, and they finished 5-8. If they get tripped up by the teal chickens to fall to .500 in 2026, that could turn into another tailspin in a hurry, with upcoming games against James Madison, Georgia Southern and Georgia State.

The College Football Czar doesn't know why he finds it so amusing that a football team would use a chicken as a mascot. After all, the chicken is the proud emblem of France.

Oh, wait a minute ...

Appalachian State 23, Coastal Carolina 21

Oct. 17

Pitt at Boston College

The University of Pittsburgh loudly credited itself with a sellout last week, when the undermanned Panthers lost to North Carolina 21-17. Considering that there are more than 17,000 upper deck seats they've simply opted not to use, the College Football Czar would argue that it really isn't possible for them to sell out anymore. Last year, a crowd of 51,000 at Acrisure Stadium was not considered a sellout, but now it is, even though the building still holds over 68,000. Even in the lower bowl, actual attendance was spotty, but now that the p.r. people have got their formula, it doesn't matter. All they have to do is declare all of the empty seats to be off-limits and, presto, the place is filled to capacity.

Pat Narduzzi has confirmed that lightly experienced senior Holden Geriner will continue to start at quarterback, which should result in a sellout of about 10,000 fans by the time the Panthers return home to play Georgia Tech on Halloween. Against UNC, Geriner completed 27 of 44, but for only 219 yards, with two bad and costly interceptions, and he became increasingly wobbly as the game wore on. Starting QB Mason Heintschel, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 5 at Virginia Tech, made his debut against BC early last year in a 48-7 blowout. The Panther defense will need to repeat that performance, because the O is not going to.

Since Eagle running back Turbo Richard has run off to Indiana, junior quarterback Mason McKenzie has gotten a majority of the carries so far this season, to lead the team with 437 rushing yards. The former Saginaw Valley State scrambler has only thrown five touchdowns in as many games, however, with the same number of interceptions.

Bill O'Brien did so well in his first two-year stint with the Eagles that he was hired away by Penn State. At 11-19 in two-plus years since his return, he now has an overall losing record at BC. Last season, he lost ten in a row before salvaging the season finale at Syracuse. Had he dropped that one also, he just might have been embarrassed enough to crawl up his chin and hide.

Pitt 19, Boston College 7

Penn State at Michigan

By now, you might think the people at PSU have had enough of the white stuff, but they employed their "whiteout" gimmick once again in hopes of getting their team into the win column in conference play. The Iowa State imports had better stop trying to Cyc out the opponents, and worry more about playing better football. Their 31-23 home loss to USC drops them to 0-3 in the conference.

The Wolverines are looking for their first league victory, also, at 0-2 after losing the Little Brown Jug to Minnesota, 20-14. They've had an idle week to reset their season, but head coach Kyle Whittingham doesn't seem very interested in doing that. The unyootful Ute has announced that he is sticking with QB Bryce Underwood and offensive coordinator Jason Beck, even though the offense has yet to generate more than 19 points against anyone but UTEP. Against the Golden Gophers, Underwood only passed for 101 yards while throwing two interceptions, which resulted in ten points against his team.

Former Michigan RB James Peoples now leads the Lions in rushing with only 232 yards, or 38.7 per game. As a team, they're still seven yards a game better than the maize and blue, though. Both schools are in the bottom half of the Big Ten when it comes to hauling the ball, which is, suffice it to say, a rarity.

Penn State fans dress entirely in white, and so did Osama bin Laden. Coincidence? The College Football Czar thinks not.

Penn State 20, Michigan 15

Cincinnati at West Virginia

There's not a wotta wuv going awound WVU lately, the way this team has been playing on defense. In three Big XII games so far, the Mountaineers have gotten mashed for a total of 138 points. Last week, they actually outgained Arizona in total yardage, but were beaten repeatedly by big plays, allowing touchdowns from 40, 72, 42 and 30 yards out. Against the run, they are the worst in the Big XII, allowing 4.6 yards per carry.

The Bearcats have been idle since being beaten badly by that same Arizona team in Week 5. They only avoided being shut out by scoring a late touchdown against the Wildcat backups, in a 34-7 throttling. It was only their first defeat of the season, but they've still got Texas Tech, Utah, Houston and BYU ahead on their schedule.

In case you're wondering about all the Ws in that opening paragraph, it's a little-known fact that the West Virginian alphabet, like the Hawaiian one, has only 13 letters. Even most of those have never been used.

Cincinnati 49, West Virginia 42

Ohio State at Indiana

Last year's 13-10 Hoosier victory in the Big Ten championship game was the first time they had beaten the Buckeyes since 1988. Just for the record, the lumpy nuts lead the all-time series 80-13-5. Then again, all IU records from the pre-Cignetti era are now utterly irrelevant.

What's more pertinent is the fact that Curt Cignetti's club had its hands full against Nebraska last Saturday, needing a frantic fourth-quarter rally to pull out a 20-17 triumph. For most of the game, quarterback Josh Hoover was more like a Roomba that keeps clunking around in one corner of the room, but he finally jostled himself free and hit WR Nick Marsh for TDs of 72 and 44 yards.

It is often said that Buckeye wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is the greatest player in college football. In fact, he says it just about every fifteen minutes. He may be right, even though he currently trails Jesse Legree of Oregon State for the most receiving yards in the nation, 932 to 916. Let's just hope Smith doesn't pull a Pavia at this year's Heisman ceremony.

The College Football Czar would never own a Roomba. He tries to keep the number of high-tech gizmos in his house to a minimum, because he doesn't want the Red Chinese spying on every facet of his life. Not that they couldn't use a good laugh.

Ohio State 27, Indiana 14

Notre Dame at Brigham Young

These teams should have squared off in last year's Pop Tarts Bowl, but the golden domers decided to serve their fans some soggy bran flakes instead. ND declined to play in a bowl game out of bitterness over being left out of the CFP, and in so doing deprived viewers of a better game than this is likely to be.

It's not the fault of the Fighting Irish that they play a weak schedule anymore. It's just that so many of their traditional rivals (Michigan State, Stanford, Purdue, BC, Syracuse) are going through a prolonged down cycle. Sadly, this ostensibly challenging game against BYU might not be so, because of the absence of Cougar running back L.J. Martin.

The Irish wore green jerseys last week, perhaps to disguise themselves so they could have plausible deniability after the 58-7 slaughter of visiting Stanford. Freshman tailback Jonaz Walton rushed for 181 yards, a majority of which came on a single, 97-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

There are a lot more Catholics than Mormons in America, and it's no wonder. Any religion in which "fasting" consists of going to the bar for a gigantic fish sandwich with fries and mac & cheese is bound to catch on.

Notre Dame 28, Brigham Young 12

Kentucky at Oklahoma

After upsetting #1 Texas in the Red River Rivalry, the Sooners planted their flag at midfield, but it was not as provocative as other flag-plantings we've seen, because it was a neutral-site game. The College Football Czar has got a bit of a problem with John Mateer being the one to do it, however, after the dual-threat QB produced such a meager output as 155 passing yards on 18 completions, and minus-6 rushing yards on the day. Altogether, OU only gained 238 yards, but won the game 27-24 with touchdowns on a blocked punt and an interception return.

In college ball, a two-point conversion is well below a 50-50 proposition, but the Wildcats have gone for it in the first overtime of back-to-back games and succeeded on both occasions, to stave off South Carolina 35-34, and then stun LSU by the same score a week later.

Unlike the 2002 Bluegrass Miracle, the Cat fans waited until the game was over to celebrate, and even though they still stormed the field, it was comparatively subdued. They must have remembered what happened 24 years ago, and decided they didn't want to hear people still making fun of them in the year 2050.

That Wildcat throwback helmet with the oblong K was a vast improvement over the clumsy, interlocking UK logo to which we've been accustomed. Lose the U, already. Being a university is nothing to brag about anyway.

Kentucky 27, Oklahoma 17

Oklahoma State at Houston

If not for a foiled two-point attempt at the end of the game at Texas Tech in Week 3, the Cougars could be unbeaten right now. That has been their only game against a Big XII contender until this one, though, following back-to-back wins over also-rans Central Florida and Kansas State.

UH quarterback Connor Weigman was intercepted once in the season opener against Oregon State, but since then he has thrown no picks and 14 touchdowns. His rushing numbers are way down this year, but that's more than a fair tradeoff for his improved accuracy.

Okie State is 4-1, and is offensively excellent, but if you subtract a 59-0 blowout of Division I-AA Murray State, they're only beating their opponents by an average score of 33.0 to 26.8. Last week, they were tied with UCF 21-21 at halftime, before outscoring them 21-7 in the second half.

Cowboy coach Eric Morris turns 41 in just over a week. We'll see how tough his team really is starting with the game after this one, when he's no longer a man.

Houston 33, Oklahoma State 31

Wisconsin at UCLA

These formerly frequent bowl opponents meet as conference opponents for the first time since the blue bears blew up the Pac 12. The Big Bad Gers went 3-0 in those postseason games, beating the Bruins twice in the Rose Bowl on their home field to end the 1993 and 1998 seasons, and then stopping them in the 2000 Sun Bowl in El Paso.

Bruin running back Wayne Knight is fifth in the Big Ten in rushing yards, but only 49 behind league-leader Turbo Richard of Indiana. What's more, Knight had not gotten a lot of carries through his first four games, but he hauled the ball 22 times last week at Oregon, and he only figures to become a bigger part of the offense as quarterback questions continue to come up. At the home of Animal House, Knight did not forget to say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He just thought he would leave that to others, while he was busy catching one TD, and scoring the other one on the ground, in a 17-15 win that now has the blue bears near the top of the standings.

Considering the nationwide rash of QB injuries, and the way they have plagued UW in recent years, head coach Luke Fickell has got to be a bit apprehensive about the fact that his passer is also his leading rusher. As long as he remains healthy, on the other hand, it is working out. In a 31-3 thumping of Michigan State, Badger quarterback Colton Joseph ran for 141 yards while passing for 145 more, scoring a total of four touchdowns. He could probably stand to have a couple of the running backs take a few more of the tackles, though.

Imagine how much a Badger fan could sell his cheesehead for in California, just by putting a sign on it that says "organic."

Wisconsin 16, UCLA 6

Alabama at Tennessee

At one point, the pachyderms had won fifteen consecutive games in this storied rivalry, which they now lead by a count of 60-40-7. UT has started to turn it around in recent years, splitting the past four meetings by taking the last two in Knoxville.

One might think what happened to the Crimson Tide last week was criminal, when Georgia got away with a blatant pass interference penalty in the end zone late in the fourth quarter. That was only one play, however, and there was no reason Bama had to give up a sack on the subsequent play. That blunder blew a chance at a log field goal, and forced a punt instead with a 20-17 deficit.

The 5-1 Volunteers barely avoided becoming yet another SEC upset victim in Week 6, when they rallied for two fourth-quarter TDs to escape Arkansas, 24-17. George MacIntyre is expected to start his second game in a row, but expect to see fellow freshman Faizon Brandon make an appearance at some point, with the competition between the two ongoing.

The College Football Czar was going to watch the ESPN six-part series Saban, but he had something more important to do. In an unrelated matter, you can never completely unravel a Slinky. Just for the record.

Alabama 30, Tennessee 22

Nebraska at Oregon

When Cornhusker QB Anthony Colandrea scored on a 39-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter against Indiana, it looked as if it would be his team at the top of the Big Ten standings this week, and the Hoosiers taking their first loss of the season. Matt Rhule's defense, which had dominated to that point, gave up a 75-yard touchdown on the first play of the subsequent drive, and then allowed another quick scoring drive to fall by a final of 20-17.

Against UCLA, the Fighting Ducks were done in by a pair of controversial two-point conversion attempts. They went for two on a first-quarter touchdown as they often do, but this time the pointless gamble would come back to bite them. As a result of the miss, they found themselves down 17-9 in the final minutes, needing a touchdown and a two-pointer to force overtime. Third-string quarterback Brock Thomas led them to a late TD, and when he tried to run in the conversion, he was tackled short, but facemasked. The penalty was assessed from the conversion line, three yards from goal, whereas the Big Ten would later recognize that it should have been from the end of the play, meaning that instead of snapping the ball from a yard and a half out, UO should have been well inside the one. On the retry from the wrong distance, RB Jordan Davison was stopped short.

If that scenario sounds familiar, that might be because of the way the webfoots wasted a chance to beat the N-men back in 2016. Head coach Mark Helfrich went for two on a first quarter TD, and was unsuccessful. He chased that lost point throughout the game, going for two after every one of his team's five touchdowns, but succeeding only once, so that he ended up with one two-pointer instead of five extra points. When the Huskers won by a final of 35-32, that was the beginning of the end of the Helfrich era.

Thomas had entered the game because Dante Moore is out with a concussion, and Dylan Raiola played perhaps the worst game of any quarterback in a weekend of poor passing performances around the nation. After playing well in a relief role at USC, the former Cornhusker QB went 6-for-19 for 43 yards, with two interceptions and one fumble.

The College Football Czar once watched an Oregon football game in which a young fan in the front row was wearing a giant corncob on his head. The funny thing was that the Ducks were playing Arizona that day, not Nebraska. Turns out the kid was just zealous about corn.

Oregon 16, Nebraska 13

Mississippi State at LSU

Even in the BCS era, two losses did not eliminate Louisiana State from the running for the national championship, but this 4-2 team has still got its toughest games ahead of it, starting with this one against Jeff Lebby and his resurgent MSU club.

Much like Penn State coach Matt Campbell after the Wisconsin game, LSU skipper Lane Kiffin is being blasted for punting with a slender lead, rather than go for it on fourth down in his own territory. After the punt, Kentucky drove for the tying field goal. Have Kiffin's critics given any thought to how it would have turned out if the Tigers had given up the ball at their own 43, instead of the UK 19? Obviously not, because lardheads always assume that the thing they wanted their team to do would have been successful. Why, that stupid, stupid coach stupidly chose not to drive for a touchdown because he wanted to punt! What an idiot!

The Bulldogs have had a week to heal up from a 56-23 beating by Alabama, but QB Kamario Taylor and leading rusher Fluff Bothwell remain banged up. Both players are listed as questionable, which the College Football Czar takes to mean they will play, but probably not up to their norm.

It's starting to look like that punt by Coach Kiffin was a brilliant call, compared to his decision to leave an already lucrative gig with a powerhouse team at Ole Miss, just to go to Baton Rouge, where head coaches routinely get fired for .738 winning percentages.

LSU 41, Mississippi State 28

Auburn at Georgia

The newly #1 Bulldogs must avoid falling into a trap game on their own turf against a 3-2 AU team that is coming off an idle week. They have beaten the Tigers nine times in a row, but last year they trailed at halftime before slowly taking over to win 20-10.

Tiger QB Byrum Brown has not benefited from a change in scenery. He had better than a 3-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in four years at South Florida, but this year he has thrown seven of each. In a 24-14 loss to Tennessee, he was picked off twice while passing for only 159 yards on 22 completions.

UGA does not lead the nation in defense, but it has been very consistent and very good. In six games, the most points the Dogs have allowed to any opponent was in a 70-20 trashing of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, in which they led 63-6 heading into the fourth quarter.

Auburn faces an awe-inspiring road schedule, including trips to Tennessee, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Alabama. But only this week are they "between the hedges." Talk about an intimidation factor. It was hedges that defeated Rommel, you know. They were so impeccably trimmed that he couldn't bear to run over them with his panzers.

Georgia 31, Auburn 13

North Carolina at Duke

Last November, the Blue Devils picked up a pivotal victory over their rivals from the Chapel of Love on their way to an unlikely ACC championship. Trailing 25-24, they seemed to be setting up for a 45-yard field goal attempt, but head coach Manny Diaz ran a fake. That might sound like a totally irrational gamble, but it succeeded because Carolina had clogged up the middle in an attempt to block the kick, leaving the left side of the field completely unguarded. The holder pitched the ball to the kicker, who ran it all the way down to the one-yard line, setting up the winning score for a 32-25 final.

Bill Belichick and his Tar Heels seem to have contracted excess exuberance on their visit to Pittsburgh. A week ago, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi reacted to a win at Virginia Tech by demanding a ranking, as if he was unaware that his team's season had just been ruined by an injury to his starting QB. Now, the Tar Heels are kicking theirs up and celebrating the fact that Belichick has just registered his first "ranked win" as a college coach, meaning a victory over a team that was ranked at the time. Surely he noticed that this wasn't the same Panther team that had earned a #25 ranking, and that if it had been, he would have been in deep trouble. The 21-17 win exposed a lot of problems for UNC, starting with the way they were manhandled on both lines. They would have been wise just to take their W and recognize that they've got a lot of work to do.

Walker Eget must have no regrets over leaving San Jose State to replace Darian Mensah behind center in Durham. Last week was his most productive game so far this season with 259 passing yards, albeit it in a 28-25 setback at Georgia Tech. Eget passed for over 3,000 yards last season at SJSU, which explains why Coach Diaz went after him in the portal. What esee is what eget.

Duke 17, North Carolina 14

Arizona State at Texas Tech

It may seem too early to discuss such things, but the Red Raiders have got the inside track to the Big XII title game, with neither BYU nor Utah on this year's regular season schedule. They need to start cracking the whip on offense, though, ranking only 12th in the 16-team Big XII in total yardage. A week ago, the O couldn't get rolling in Boulder, but four INTs produced 20 points in a plodding 29-7 win over Colorado.

The Sun Devils are rushing for an average of 5.0 yards per carry, but they just don't do it often enough. Their 167 carries to this point in the season is the fewest in the league. Part of the reason for that is that they were trailing so badly against Texas A&M and Baylor that they had to all but abandon their ground game in each case. The College Football Czar is doubtful that this trudging TT team can put them in that same position.

Tech uses two different mascots at its home games. One of them, called The Masked Rider, is an obvious rip-off of Zorro, while the other, Raider Red, more closely resembles Yosemite Sam. Neither of these solitary figures could be defined as a raider, which in a way is kind of clever. It's the school's way of saying, "We have no idea that red raiders are really Indians, so don't hassle us."

Arizona State 24, Texas Tech 20

Missouri at Ole Miss

If the BCS still existed, the Rebels' ranking would be taking a beating, because that formula was based not only on a team's own performance, but that of its opponents. When Florida, which had flattened this Mississippi team, proceeded to get dismantled by both Mizzou and South Carolina, the Rebs would have been out of contention for the national championship, and rightfully so. Next year, they'll be able to lose to the University of Louisiana-Utica, which could then go on to lose to Bottom Arkansas Tech & M, and it will hardly matter.

As far as this season is concerned, Ole Miss is still in the running, but another loss before they play Texas and Georgia would likely mean they'd have to win both of those games. Following the Florida loss, they made the most of an idle week, and came back to clobber Vanderbilt, 52-17, on the strength of three second-quarter TD passes by Trinidad Chambliss.

Tiger trotter Jamal Roberts had never gotten more than 17 carries before his senior year, but now he's averaging 24.5 per game. Last week, he pounded the ampersand out of Texas A&M for a career-high 222 rushing yards, in a 22-6 stomping.

In a weak attempt at replicating the Texas Tech deception, the Rebels have been trying for years to shake their Confederate image while still naming the team after Confederates. For a while, they adopted a bear mascot, which was widely ridiculed for its total irrelevance. There has been far less uproar over Tony the Landshark, because if nobody told you what it was supposed to be, you'd never guess. Having a flat head with no nose, Tony looks more like a grinning can of Michelob Ultra than a shark. But the important thing is that he's inoffensive, unless you happen to be offended by utter imbecility.

Ole Miss 42, Missouri 39

Wake Forest at California

Home field means a lot in these bicoastal conference games, as we saw when the Golden Bears bumped off Virginia Tech last Saturday, 25-20. Having lost starting QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele to a concussion, Cal started junior Jackson Brousseau, who bombed the Gobblers for 321 yards.

You wouldn't think Wake would be familiar with the West Coast, but it has had recent success there, winning at Oregon State last season and Stanford the year before. The Demon Deacons are currently all alone in second place in the ACC with a conference record of 3-1. A week ago in Raleigh, they gave up only 73 yards and no points in the second have of a 38-14 disintegration of intrastate rival Nc State.

Deacon WR Carlos Hernandez is the runaway ACC leader in receiving yards, with 720. He already vaulted over his total from all of last season with 117 yards on 12 catches against NCSU. Aside from his own year-to-year improvement, it makes a big difference that he is now catching passes from Gio Lopez, who has 13 TD passes and only one pick all season.

When Cal hired head coach Tosh Lupoi away from his position as defensive coordinator at Oregon, he was adamant that he wanted to stay with UO until his job there was done. Then his D got molished in the CFP semifinals by Indiana, 56-22. This has got to stop. The instant a coach agrees to take a job at another school, he should no longer be allowed to represent the one that he's leaving. No doubt, Lupoi meant well, but hid brain was already in Berkeley. He should have let someone else coach the Fighting Duck defense who still had a stake in it. Talk about a lame duck.

Well, no, don't really talk about a lame duck. That would be sad.

Wake Forest 32, California 22

Rutgers at Maryland

The 2-4 Terrapins have been knocked over like tenpins on defense ever since Big Ten play began. In consecutive crud-kickings by UCLA, Nebraska and Ohio State, they have allowed an average of 49 points per game. And, frankly, OSU took it easy on them.

Greg Schiano's team got Umassacred in a stunning season opener, in which the Minutemen marched all over them, 37-21. They've played better since then, especially in a 42-35 loss to USC, but they still haven't beaten a Division I-A opponent this year. Quarterback Dylan Lonergan is expected to get the nod over A.J. Surace this week, though statistically, there's not much separating the two.

At halftime of that loss to Umass, with his team trailing 24-7, Schiano was asked what the Scarlet Knights needed to do in the second half. His response: "We just gotta keep choppin' wood." No wonder this team stinks. They don't even know what game they're playing. While their opponents run right past them into the end zone, they're busy tossing logs around like a bunch of Scotsmen.

Maryland 35, Rutgers 24

Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech

Nonconference scheduling being what it is today, an unbeaten record through a third of the season means almost as little in football as it does in basketball. The Gobblers got off to a 4-0 start against Division I-AA VMI. Sun Belt non-contender Old Dominion, and major conference doormats Maryland and BC. Now that they've finally faced a couple reasonably competent teams, losing to Pitt and California, their season looks completely different, even though their level of play has been the same.

At least VT has beaten its bad opponents, unlike the visitors from Atlanta, who opened with a home loss to Colorado, and more recently bungled away a game at Stanford. However, they did hand Duke its first defeat of the season last week, and QB Alberto Mendoza is slowly improving.

Each of these schools has an official team name, and another name that is often used in its place. Somewhere there must be a lardhead who is parlaying the Yellowjackets over the Gobblers and he Hokies over the Ramblin Wreck. When he loses, that will prove the games were fixed.

Georgia Tech 19, Virginia Tech 17

New Mexico at Hawaii

In order to turn his team's fortunes around, coach Timmy Chang should buy a vowel, because he needs to make a change. This Rainbow Warrior team, coached by the all-time NCAA leader in touchdown passes, is only scoring 16.7 points per game. When a quarterback puts the ball in the air 49 times, as Micah Alejandro did in last week's 30-12 loss at Arizona State, 25 completions and 252 yards isn't nearly enough.

The 4-1 Lobos have only lost 14-6 at Oklahoma. Looking at their schedule, they could very well be in the hunt for a CFP bid if they survive this long road trip, but the quality of their opposition will be an impediment. If you already have rivalry games against the likes of New Mexico State and UTEP, you cannot also beat up on Division I-AA Mercyhurst.

About those 13 Hawaiian letters, it's a little-known fact that our 50th state once sent a team of missionaries to teach them to the West Virginians. Unfortunately, once they got to P, everybody started laughing so hysterically that there was no point in trying to go on.

New Mexico 24, Hawaii 15

The College Football Czar

a sports publication from The Shinbone